The present invention relates generally to material transfer devices, and in particular, to improvements in material transfer devices wherein the device structure is standardized and a fitted swap out plate is used to accommodate variations in the angular relationship between the transfer device and the transport chamber to which the transfer device is connected.
In the fabrication of planar substrates or articles, it is well known to employ a processing chamber within a clean room and to supply a batch of substrates to be processed using two stations situated in a side-by-side fashion and connected to the transport chamber. Within the transport chamber is provided a transport apparatus which is capable of selectively extending a substrate holder into one of the side-by-side loading and unloading stations. In addition, the transfer apparatus is capable of rotating in 360.degree. to move a substrate holder into one of the number of processing stations which are disposed about the chamber. In this way, the transport apparatus is capable of moving a substrate between selective ones of the processing stations, as well as between each of the loading stations as prescribed by a controller. A load lock is provided and functions to move substrates from one position to another irrespective of the number of the processing modules which are coupled to the processing chamber. The functions of each processing chamber are however primarily dictated by manufacturers specific requirements. For example, a transport chamber might require connection with six separate processing modules which must be connected to it in such a manner as to allow the transport apparatus to move radially outwardly to each of the processing modules from a common center disposed within the transport chamber. However, the number of processing modules which are used and attached to the process chamber, determines the angular faces of the transport chamber. As such the angular faces change with the number of process modules added, e.g. number of side faces to be attached. As illustrated in the prior art drawings of FIGS. 1a through 1e, the systems which are used in the manufacture of such substrates can vary from a three processing station system as shown in FIG. 1a, up to as many as a six or seven processing stations, as illustrated in FIG. 1e. In addition, each system must be able to handle wafer sizes of up to 300 mm in diameter. In addition, the system must be configured and designed to meet SEMI/MESC standards. In the past, one answer to this situation was to rework the configuration of the load lock stations to accommodate the different angles which existed between the load lock and transport chamber. However, the customizing of each load lock station involved a significant amount of labor and expense which otherwise would be desirably avoided.
In addition to the above, there is also a need to provide a high throughput transport device which can move a substrate or workpiece between remote locations within highly confined areas as defined by a limited footprint. This is because in the process of manufacturing, not just in the semiconductor industry, the need to move a workpiece from one position to the next, not only requires a high throughput rate, but also accuracy of repeatability of placement of workpieces in registration at predetermined orientations on a support surface. Still a further constraint is a to fabricate a positioning machine which is capable of working in a clean room environment where the existence of particulates is minimized, if not nonexistent.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide an interface between a load lock and a transport chamber which is adaptable to connect a standardized load lock to a processing chamber with different configurations as defined by different angular faces in the processing chamber.
It is still a further object of the invention to provide an interface of the aforementioned type which is easily manufactured and can be readily connected to a standardized load lock assembly.
It is still a further object of the invention is to provide a system interface which is capable of working within a vacuum environment with exposure to wide ranges of vacuum.
Other objects of and advantages of the invention will become apparent by the following specification and appended claims.